Key Players for Kentucky’s Tournament Run

Mark Pope is about to embark on his first postseason as head coach of the Wildcats. This season has been full of excitement, joy, pain, ups, downs, and a little bit of sadness (in terms of injuries). The roster was an exciting one, but injuries have limited the team to only seven games with its full complement of players. With that being said, let’s take a look at some of the key players if UK is going to make a run in March.

Collin Chandler

Yes, this is someone MANY people didn’t have on their bingo cards as an X-factor player come tournament time. But Chandler has slowly improved every week and is now one of our best on-ball defenders. His court vision and ability to knock down shots have improved IMMENSELY, and with Jaxson Robinson out, Chandler has seen his minutes and importance rise. With a ton of athleticism and speed, Chandler can significantly change UK’s bench depth. With ups and downs from Perry and Noah, look for Chandler—surprisingly, but deservedly—to be a huge factor in how far the Cats go.

Amari Williams

I know, I know—this is a DUH! But it’s not just because he’s maybe the most important player on the team right now. It’s because of how he changes the spacing on the floor come tournament time. Spacing and the ability to knock down threes are huge. Not many teams will have a 7-foot, 270-pound guy who can handle the rock and play point like Amari. The SEC is a brutally physical league, and Amari has improved significantly since the start of it. With that experience, I expect him to take an even bigger step forward during the tournament.

Andrew Carr

Carr, at the beginning of the season, was Kentucky’s closer. He had key steals, rebounds, and free throws in many of UK’s top-15 wins. Losing him during the season was tough, and you could see it took him a while to get back into the swing of things. The past two weeks, we have started to see the old Carr slowly creeping back, with his performance against Mizzou being the crescendo of that return. If Carr is healthy and back in form, he presents a defensive and offensive mismatch for many teams UK would face. With his size and shot-making ability, as well as being one of the best finishers at the rim with contact, Carr’s importance is monumental to UK’s chances of making a deep run in the tournament.

Kentucky, even without Robinson, Butler, Carr, and Kriisa through long periods this season, has shown they are extremely tough against top-25 teams. If Butler can stay healthy, this team can still make a lot of noise and go a long way in the SEC and NCAA tournaments.